Convergys Corp.’s information management subsidiary has dropped a lawsuit it filed last year against Grubb & Ellis Management Services Inc. and Prudential Insurance Co. of America.

The complaint, filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court last February, alleged that Grubb & Ellis and Prudential had overcharged Convergys more than $2.4 million on its office lease at 600 Vine downtown from 1999 through 2005. Prudential is the building’s former owner.

Convergys alleged that outside audits performed for it by the accounting firm BDO Seldman LLP showed that it had been consistently overcharged for its 600 Vine lease.

Grubb & Ellis’s annual statements of operating costs included operating expenses for things that were not covered by the lease agreement, it said. The disputed expenses included capital expenditures and costs related to restoration of the building’s parking garage. Convergys also claimed it had not been properly credited for savings that resulted when it vacated certain parts of the building.

Details of the matter’s resolution were not disclosed in court documents. Convergys officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In its answer to the complaint, Grubb & Ellis had denied it was responsible for any alleged overcharges. Prudential likewise denied the allegations.

Convergys’ corporate headquarters used to be located at 600 Vine in what was then referred to as the Convergys Center. The company relocated to the Atrium One building on Fourth Street in 2006 after the city and state granted it a multimillion-dollar package of tax and financial incentives to keep its headquarters downtown.

Former Deskey partner sues for payments

Scott Yaw, former president and East Coast partner of the branding firm Deskey Associates Inc., has sued the company for nonpayment of money due under a 2007 stock redemption agreement.

According to a complaint filed Feb. 2 in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, Deskey has not paid Yaw $425,000 (out of $750,000 total) still outstanding for his 325 shares of Deskey common stock, nor has it kept current on monthly “transition fee” payments that were to have totaled $550,000 over three years. He contends he was owed another $262,500 in transition fees to date.

Yaw and Deskey separated in mid-2007, with CEO and majority owner Doug Studer buying out Yaw’s interest. Yaw had operated the firm’s office in Philadelphia. At the time, Studer said the move cleared up some potential competitive conflicts and would allow Deskey to refocus on brand innovation.

Studer was recovering from knee surgery and was not available for comment.

Lawsuit against Cintas to proceed

Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Charles Kubicki Jr. has rejected a bid by Cintas Corp. to have a shareholder lawsuit against the uniform supplier dismissed without trial.

In a ruling on Cintas’ motion to dismiss, entered on Feb. 2, Kubicki said he found the motion “not well taken.” He also lifted an earlier protective order, issued at Cintas’ request, that had halted pretrial evidence gathering while the motion was pending. Evidence gathering can now proceed, Kubicki said.

As reported in the Business Courier in July 2008, New York-based Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust is suing Cintas, its directors and certain senior officers, charging they have failed to fulfill oversight obligations owed to Cintas shareholders.

The lawsuit is based on factual allegations that include previously reported instances of violations of worker safety rules at Cintas laundry plants, alleged illegal discriminatory hiring and promotion practices that are the subject of ongoing litigation, and matters related to union organizing and so-called “living wage” statutes.

Cintas spokeswoman Pam Lowe said at the time the lawsuit was filed that the company denied the allegations and was confident that its officers and directors have “faithfully and diligently” fulfilled their duties.

Such lawsuits typically take years to conclude; no trial date has been scheduled.